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Over the last month PPD have been kept busy with a couple of projects. I've been helping my friends at Brassmasters with a potential EasiChas project. As I mentioned a couple of months back the cab windows provided for the J17 in the PDK kit I'm building didn't seem to match the GERS drawing very well. I received the replacement etches from PPD and will see how they go together over the next week or so. The second project has been considerably more complex. Following on from the Easichas for the Hornby J15 i thought I'd try to apply the same principles to the Bachmann Ivatt 2MT. This is very much a work in progress and at this point I'm still at the 'can I get these bits to fit together well enough for me to keep going with the build and find the next set of problems with the etch?' stage. So far I have made the Easichas overlay fit and got the basic drive assembled. This utilizes the original chassis block, motor and gear tower. I've spotted several mistakes, mostly in the form of 'that hole needs moving by .5mm' but nothing too catastrophic. I over compensated for the lack of clearance between coupling and connecting rod so the cylinders, which are currently too far apart, can be moved back to a more scale spacing. I was quite pleased with the way the cross head folded up and soldered together. Using a similar principle to the brakes on my J15 these etchings can be tinned, concertinaed together and soldered up before removing from outer frame. There are some minor tweaks to make but not bad for a first attempt. The replacement tender chassis etch also folded up easily. Obviously I still have to assemble the valve gear, brakes, cylinders etc but it is coming along. Wish me luck as I make my second attempt of Walschaerts valve gear. This time I have will not have the advantage of etches from Dave Bradwell or his helpful advise on the Scalefour Forum. If this doesn't fit together I have only myself to blame! David

This Post brings a closure to my last two Posts. Those of you who have read my accounts of rebadging a Hornby Clan and Britannia will know that there was some unfinished business. Hornby ‘Britannia’ alias ‘Morning Star’ still needed cut outs around its lubricators. Hornby ‘Clan McLeod’ alias ‘Clan Stewart’ needed its top lamp iron repositioning. A reminder, as received TMC Morning Star alias Hornby Britannia R2562 Completed – my 1959 version of 70021 Morning Star with solid rods, lubricator access, large dome, raised sand box covers, front step and rear cab supports Lubricator Cut Outs, one with (right) and R2562 without (left) In the same way that Hornby have engineered the Britannia body shell to cater for different numbers of raised sand box lids, the body moulding has also been set up to make it easy to alter from an engine without lubricator access (the early 1950s engines) to engines with an access hole in through the side of the footplate. With a sharp blade and a steady hand the thin panel can be cut away from in front of the lubricator. As I have said earlier finding the little black handles would be the problem. I cheated and have ‘found’ a complete new chassis. Hornby Britannia / Clan X9607 or R.Scot / Patriot X3875 – spot L8786! Those of you that have bought or played with old ‘Super Detail’ Britannias will know that the Main Drive Gear (X9607) is prone to splitting. The part is a combination of two separate different sized gears force fitted onto a common shaft. When the larger gear splits it causes the engine to limp or seize solid. The fault is readily identifiable because ‘the tight spot’ occurs at different points in the revolution of the driving wheels rather than at the same point when there is a fault with the quartering or with the gear wheel on the driving axle. The same gear (X3875) is used by Hornby in their Royal Scot and Patriot models. The problem is that this spare part is frequently out of stock at the usual suppliers. In all the models that I have come across it is only the larger gear that has split, the one stamped L8786. Examples of Hornby Spare Part Packs containing gear wheel L8786 L8786 is used in almost all of Hornby’s models but combined with different length shafts or a different size small gear. L8786 can be eased off its drive shaft and there are packs for different models available from the usual Hornby spare parts dealers which can be raided to provide the necessary replacement. These alternative spare parts can be considerably cheaper than buying the ‘real’ part at an inflated price off eBay. The unfinished business with Clan Stewart alias Clan McLeod (R2847) related to the position of the top smoke box lamp iron. R2847 comes with a Late Crest and overhead warning plates. As such it represents Clan McLeod at the end of its working life in the 1960s. By this time the top lamp iron had been lowered for safer working under the overhead wires. In contrast my model of Clan Stewart had retained its Early Emblem and represented the engine at the beginning of the 1960s. It would be 1963 before it gained its Late Crest and had its top lamp iron lowered. Hornby R2847 Clan McLeod alias Clan Stewart with repositioned top lamp iron as running in 1960 I must have been lucky because after separating the bodyshell from the chassis I was able to use a tiny screw driver and to push out the existing lamp iron. It was then a case of marking out, drilling a new hole and glueing the iron back into its new top position. Getting the position correct is critical. Get it wrong and it is very visible. I used a 0.5mm bit rotated by hand to form the new hole. This is perhaps a little small for the stub on the Hornby lamp iron but it does leave scope for elongating the hole to the left or right if the initial marking out proves to have been ‘off centre’. Perfect Plastic Putty coloured with Acrylic Paint (Wilkinson’s) Removing the lamp iron had left a reasonably clean hole which I filled using ‘Perfect Plastic Putty’ coloured black with acrylic paint. I made a mixture of half putty and half paint. I used my finger to push the putty from inside the smoke box until it appeared on the outside. The surplus on the outside was carefully removed after it had started to dry. Since the hole was unlikely to get any handling I left the filler with just a dab of black acrylic paint applied using a cocktail stick. For me this was a quicker solution and more acceptable than repainting the whole smoke box door. Hornby R2847 Clan McLeod alias Clan Stewart with repositioned top lamp iron as running in 1960 Another view of Clan Stewart, followed by another image of Morning Star (I do like these models). My 1959 version of 70021 Morning Star alias Hornby R2562 For completeness I have added two views of the third engine from the previous Post, my 1960s version of Britannia. I have swapped its tender top for one with a different shade of green. Hornby Special Duties Britannia Ex R3094 Set with Late Crest and BR (LMR) pattern deflectors My understanding is that Britannia never had its sand box lids modified in British Railways days. I need to be more certain as to how the tops of the sand boxes were finished on the prototype in 1960 before cutting or making any further modifications to the model. Hornby Special Duties Britannia Ex R3094 Set with Late Crest and BR (LMR) pattern deflectors

Hello all! Hope you are all keeping well. As usual, it has been a while since last posting on here. The recurring theme has always been losing interest in the hobby followed by regaining it for a short while, I guess it applies to all hobbies. I've hit the buffers well and truly this time due to personal circumstances. My marriage fell apart last November and the situation got really out of hand to the point where the ex got me arrested under false allegations, I was forced out of the house too. Her actions cost me the house, my job and my mental health was blown to pieces all because she lacked rationality and her family added fuel to the fire. Nearly 8 months on things have picked up, got my own place again and returned to my employer, there is still a way to go in regards to my mental health but we'll get there. I had to sell a good chunk of the fleet to get money together and also to get rid of reminders of my ex as she bought me a good number of them as gifts. My interest in the hobby has died off, I have no desire to restart and rebuild a layout but I do enjoy looking at other people's work.

A blog in several parts, due to photo size. The kit is designed so that the body folds up from the floor in two halves jointed at the floor centreline, with quite large gaps to be filled with card. The corridor wall is then soldered in. I thought about this and decided it worried me. The sides fold inwards about 5 mm at cantrail height narrowing the aperture to get in and do the interior. I made coaches this way in the past and it was a real hassle getting in to add details and glaze the windows. That was with full compartment stock, I don’t know how folk manage to paint the corridor side. So, a bit of lateral thinking. Firstly the roof and ends. Some delicate forming of the roof section, then the support structure and ends. I worked off a board with it all clamped down to keep it square. Lighting is in place, lamps are central to the compartments. Note the little tabs soldered to the support structure at cantrail height. They line up with compartment partitions. A coat of white primer on the inside. One of the features of these coaches was that the body sat on a set of rubber blocks. I haven’t quite gone that far, but here is the floor cut from 10 thou brass, studs to fix it to the frames and the corridor etch soldered in. Again, note the little tabs soldered to the floor. I spent a fair time thinking about lighting. I tried latching reeds a long time ago, temperamental and delicate.So I needed a switch, but where to put it? The obvious answer was battery in one toilet and switch in the other, but how to operate the switch? It dawned on me, there are four small holes in the roof for the toilet tank fillers. Made from 1.5 mm tube, three dummies and one leading down to the switch. Just push a bit of wire down to turn the lights on and off. So here it is on the frames. Plenty of access to fit the compartments and seating. Easy battery change. And the next bit ...

Due to actions by the RMWeb team, who decided to support the toxicity of @woodenhead and "punish" me by deleting all the images I've uploaded, this content has been redacted.

Just a quick, mostly photographic, update on the recent scenic work carried out. As described previously, the trees were made from sea foam with the trunks thickened up with builders caulk and ground foam used as leaves. The key is variation of colour and height to give a convincing look, I also painted a green wall on the backscene to ensure to reduce the amount of of blue sky showing through the branches. And to finish up here are a few artistic shots to give the false impression of progress